Restricted to the Light
by ElricLawliet
Summary: She was only an exorcist to escape her father. It hurt, and it always would. Because war is just like love; it eats away at you until you can no longer feel. She wasn't supposed to love a Noah, but she did and her life will never be the same. Debitto/OC
1. Collision

**This is my collab with Penchant-for-raising-Cain. She is awesome and I worship her. *epic nod* I wrote this chapter, and she went over and fixed any mistakes I made. So...yeah. HERE WE GO!**

Lali Evans shoved her hands into her pockets and walked down the street, looking right and left, trying to see everything at once. She'd never been to England before, in fact, she'd never been out of New York before. Her father had made sure she never went anywhere he couldn't make sure she was doing what he wanted…

No, no, _no._ Her father was the last thing Lali wanted to think about. He was halfway across the world, separated by an entire ocean. He was far, far away, and he couldn't touch her.

She was _free._

She grinned, high spirits briefly returning, but the grin faded again as she looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and she still had no idea where the Black Order headquarters were. She had hoped to find it before nightfall, but now she realized that had been a ridiculous hope. She sighed. She actually didn't mind taking some time and seeing the sights for a few days, the only problem was she didn't have a penny to her name. She had used all her money to by the boat ticket to get here. She sighed again and brushed a lock of her dirty-blonde hair out of her face. If she didn't find someone who knew where the HQ was soon, she would be royally screwed. She'd have to sleep in a tree; the thought made her grimace. She wasn't a fan of sleeping outside.

As the sun continued to sink lower and lower, so did Lali's heart. Fully caught up in her predicament, Lali wasn't paying attention where she was going - and walked headfirst into someone.

"Oof!"

She stumbled, barely catching herself.

"Watch it, you little brat!"

Brat? Instantly Lali flared up. "Sorry! It's not like I had the intention of running into a jerk!"

"Jerk? _You _ran into _me. _If anyone's a jerk, it's you."

Lali glared up at him, taking in his appearance for the first time. He was a teenager, not much older than her, with short, dark hair and golden eyes. And…was he really wearing…

"Is that…are you wearing _makeup?" _Lali asked incredulously, anger gone for a moment as she tried hard not to laugh.

"Eh? What the hell, you brat? First you run into me, then get mad at me for it, and now you're making fun of me? And you call _me_ a jerk?"

"S-sorry," Lali said, trying not to giggle. "I've just never seen a guy in makeup before."

"Tch. Whatever. No excuse for the other two." He glared at her.

She grinned apologetically. "Sorry for running into you. Really. I was just focused on something else. And sorry for snapping at you, too. I just don't like being called brat."

"Whatever." He stared at her for a minute, studying her. "You aren't from around here, are you?"

She grimaced. "Is it really that obvious?"

He smirked. "So, where you from, kid?"

She glared at him for a second before letting it slide. "New York."

"That far? You made of money?"

She sighed. "Actually I spent all the money I had on the boat ticket. I'm freaking broke. If I don't find the place I'm looking for soon, I'm gonna starve." As if to emphasize her point, her stomach growled.

He suddenly grinned at her. "Well okay then, how about I treat you? You know, to make up for calling you brat."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You sure you wanna do that? I eat a lot."

"C'mon, it can't be that much. You're a friggin twig. You know I'll end up doing it eventually. I never lose an argument."

She sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

"What's your name anyway?" the boy asked.

"Lali. Yours?"

He grinned. "Debitto."

…

Debitto stared at Lali, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

"What?" Lali said, already halfway done with the giant plate of food. "I did warn you."

"I…I thought…"

"What, that I was lying? Exaggerating? Psh, I don't lie. Er, mostly. I warned you I have a big appetite, but you didn't listen. Don't blame me."

Debitto just shook his head, still in shock. "You look like you weigh fifty pounds! How could you possibly eat so much?"

Lali paused. She couldn't tell him she was the accommodator of a parasitic-type Innocence; he'd think she was crazy.

She shrugged. "I've always had a big appetite. It's one of my many quirks."

He just shook his head again and waited for her to finish. After he paid the bill, they walked out together. The sun was close to setting, and Lali started looking dejected again.

"Well…thanks for the meal. It was really nice. I'd better try to find that place tonight…" She started to walk off, heading in (she hoped) the general direction of the Black Order HQ.

Debitto watched her go, feeling strangely upset. For some reason unbeknownst to him it made him sad to see Lali go. Then an idea struck him.

"Lali!"

She turned back to him. "Yeah?"

"Do you have to be at that place tonight?"

"No, why?"

"Well, it's getting dark, and it's completely obvious you've got no clue where you're going; how 'bout you stay at my house?"

Lali's eyes widened. "Wh-what? Really?"

Debitto grinned. "Yeah! My brother's out tonight, so no worries about creepy blondes waking you up! Then tomorrow morning you can go find this place of yours with all day to spare! It'd be great!"

She broke into a wide grin. This was much better than sleeping in a tree! "That'd be great! - wait…creepy blondes?"

He waved off the question. "Long story. Basically, my brother Jasdero looks kinda…different. But that doesn't matter; like I said, he's out."

She smiled again. "Great."

He reached out, and she took his hand, allowing him to lead the way.

Now normally, it would be stupid to take a guy you just met's hand and go home with him. But Lali didn't know this. This was the first time she'd been alone in…well, ever. Lali's father had very rarely let her out of the house, and on the rare occasions he did, he kept a very close eye on her. Lali really had almost no idea about the basic rules of society.

But she really didn't need to worry. Besides, Lali was very good at protecting herself.

…

Lali stared at the house in front of her, eyes wide as plates. "Holy…"

Debitto laughed at her expression. "You like?"

"I-it's huge!" she said.

"Maybe for just two people, yeah. But our…grandfather likes to spoil his family. Anyway, this is nothing. You should see the stuff he does for our cousin. She's his favorite."

Lali just blinked and allowed him to lead her into the house. He showed her around, and told her she'd sleep on the couch in the living room.

"Thanks." She yawned.

He was a bit surprised. "You're tired already?"

She shot him a glance. "I've had a really long day, Debi."

He shrugged. This was true. "Okay then. Change into you pajamas and I'll go get some blankets."

When he got back, he nearly dropped the blankets. Lali hadn't waited for the covers; she'd collapsed on the couch right after changing. One hand was dangling off the edge, and her hair had fallen into her face. Debitto shook his head. He'd only been gone for about three minutes! How did anyone fall asleep that fast? This girl was weird. Debitto sighed and spread a blanket over her anyway. His house got cold during the night. He smiled.

Lali was really cute when she slept.

He flicked out the living room light and headed up to bed. For some reason, he was really tired, too.

…

The next morning, Lali woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. She followed the delicious smell into the kitchen, where she found a (makeup free) Debitto making breakfast.

He turned and grinned at her. "Good morning."

"'Morning." She yawned and sat down at the table. "Funny, you didn't seem the cooking type."

He snorted. "Someone has to. And I sure as hell ain't letting Jasdero anywhere near the stove."

She laughed, and he placed a heaping plate of food in front of her. She nearly started drooling. It smelled _awesome._

He laughed at her expression and sat down to eat his own breakfast. When they had finished, Lali sighed,

"Wow, Debi. You're a great cook."

"Thanks." His smile faded. "But you're gonna have to leave now, huh?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Sorry, but I really have to get there soon. I have something important I have to do."

He sighed. "Alright then."

A few minutes later her stuff was packed and she was standing on the front porch to leave. She waved bye.

"Thanks for everything, Debitto. I'm really lucky I met you."

He smiled. "No problem. Come back if you ever want to visit."

She turned to leave, and he felt his heart sink. He really didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay, to eat breakfast with him every morning and meet Jasdero. He had no clue why, all he knew was _he wanted her to stay. _But that was impossible. She was human, he was Noah. He couldn't pull her into that. So he watched her go, leaning against the door frame and wishing for the first time in his life that he wasn't a Noah.

Until he remembered something.

"Shit! Lali!"

She turned back to him. "What?"

"Wait a second, I forgot something!"

He ran upstairs to his room, and came back a minute later with something in his hand. He handed it to her, and she held it up to examine it.

It was a necklace.

A simple, thin band of leather, and tied to the leather was an animal tooth of some kind.

"It's a lion's fang. I got at a carnival a week ago, but I wanted you to have it. You know, to remember me by." He grinned.

She loved it. It was simple and cool, much more her style than any bead necklace any other guy would have gotten her. She broke into a huge grin and threw her arms around a startled Debitto.

"Thanks, Debi! I love it!"

She let him go, and turned to leave again. But before she did, she stopped one last time and did the last thing he expected.

She kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Debitto. For everything."

He smiled. "No problem."

She slipped the necklace around her neck, and started heading off to find the Black Order, a smile on her face. She was gonna miss him. And as Debitto lost sight of his knew friend, they both thought the same thing:

_I hope we meet again._

**YAY! It finally made it to FF! We did it! VICTORY SCREECH!**

**Um, Debitto's a little OOC here; I hope it's not too bad…**

**So go ahead! Review! Me and Tsuki onee-san are waiting~!**


	2. Heated Revelations

**Chapter two time~! See? Updating is faster when you review.**

**Disclaimer: you know the drill. We own NOTHING.**

**Enjoy!**

Lali walked down the quiet road, thinking of Debitto. He was kinda cute. She sighed. She'd been told that when exorcists joined the Order, they had to cut off basically all old connections. After all, if they died on duty, and old friends or family found out, there was the chance that they'd be turned into Akuma.

This meant she'd probably never see Debitto again.

Though she'd only known him for a day, the thought saddened her. She'd really liked Debi; he was funny, cute, and he'd really seemed to care about her. She'd never met anyone like that. She fingered the lion's fang necklace, and tried to stop thinking about. She needed to focus on getting to the Order.

Now the only problem was how to find the Order. She'd been told it was on a cliff in England, but how many cliffs were there in England? Lali was so busy worrying, that she failed to pay attention to her surroundings, again.

And nearly got blown up.

Suddenly, a huge purple bullet came out of nowhere and caused the ground right in front of Lali to explode. She was thrown backwards, and landed on her back about six yards away. She sat up gasping, and looked with wide eyes to see what had happened. Floating in the air, not too far from her, were about ten level one Akuma. Lali cursed and leapt to her feet.

Then she noticed the exorcists.

She knew that was what they were, because they had the same intricate cross on their uniforms as the exorcist Lali had met back home in New York. One was a girl with long black hair tied in pigtails and violet eyes, the other a boy with snow-white hair, silver eyes, and a strange red scar on his left eye. Both had their Innocence activated, and were fighting with all their strength, but were at a very obvious disadvantage.

"Maybe I can change that," Lali muttered.

_Innocence, activate!_

Lali felt the change instantly: her blood started boiling and she felt as if she could take on the world. A broad grin split her face; she loved the rush she felt when her Innocence activated. She sprinted towards the Akuma faster than any normal human could have run, and the two exorcists finally spotted her.

"Hey!" the girl yelled. "Stop! This is really danger-"

She never finished her sentence - she was too busy being shocked speechless, as with a loud roar, a yellow-gold tongue of flame burst from Lali's mouth, engulfing an Akuma. The monster exploded, and Lali was already blowing up another. By her third Akuma, the other two exorcists had recovered from their shock and were taking out the others. Five minutes later, all ten Akuma had been destroyed.

All three deactivated their Innocence, and the two turned to Lali and stared at her.

"You're an accommodator of Innocence," the boy finally said.

Lali grinned. "No duh."

He seemed even more surprised. "You know what that means?"

She nodded. "I was told by an exorcist who came to my home town what it was. He explained the basics, and told me to go to the Black Order Headquarters. I, uh, kinda got lost looking for it, though."

The boy shrugged. "That's understandable. I'm Allen, by the way, Allen Walker. And this is Lenalee Lee." He smiled politely.

Lenalee nodded. "If you're lost, we'll escort you. We'll have to take the long way, though." She smiled. "We're actually not that far, so let's go now."

"Fine by me. Better than wandering around till I drop from starvation."

And so the exorcist-to-be followed Allen and Lenalee to what would be the greatest adventure of her life.

[Insert time-skip line here]

Lali stared in shock up at the giant castle looming before her. "H-holy..."

Allen and Lenalee laughed.

"Impressed?" Lenalee asked.

"It's huge!"

"Well, this is where all the exorcists and most of the science department live. It has to be big."

Suddenly a voice came out of a flying winged-thingy that Lali had mistaken for a bat, causing her to jump up, startled.

"Allen, Lenalee, you're back! Um...who's the girl?"

"Hey, Reever. This is Lali. She's an accommodator. She helped us beat a bunch of Akuma."

"Huh. Well, make sure she's human. Gatekeeper!"

The sudden appearance of a giant face-thing was, understandably, shocking to Lali. So she did what any brave future exorcist would do: shrieked at the top of her lungs and cowered behind Lenalee.

Allen and Lenalee burst out laughing, and Lali swore she even heard Reever chuckle.

"It's okay, Lali," Lenalee said, still giggling, "The Gatekeeper is just going to make sure you're human."

She moved so that Lali was in front of the Gatekeeper, and the giant face leaned forward to look at her. Then two bright beams of light surrounded her, causing Lali to freeze in fear. After a few suspenseful moments, the beams of light cut off and the Gatekeeper leaned back.

"SHE'S...CLEAN!"

Allen and Lenalee smiled, and Lali thought she might just pass out from relief.

"Well, that settles that," Reever said. "Open the gate."

The gate slowly opened, and a still semi-traumatized Lali followed Allen and Lenalee into the huge castle she had been searching for so long.

**And that's chapter two! We hope you enjoyed it. Now remeber: reviews motivate us to update faster! XD**

**So review!**


	3. Impure Obsession

**Well, our lovely readers, Penchant-for-raising-Cain and I are very sorry about how long this took. She's had to go on a two-month hiatus anyway, and I have been very busy with exams and end-of-the-year school shiz. BUT we found time to finish it! YAYZ!**

**So~ Tsuki wrote the first half of this chapter, I wrote the rest. Enjoy, ne?**

**Disclaimer: I definitely don't own it, and I doubt my co-author does either. Just saying.**

Lali peered at the archaic walls with wonder. This sure beat her New York townhouse back home. She remembered how big that house was, and how beautiful her mother looked, calling the younger Lali into the kitchen for come candy.

_Way to put a downer on yourself,_ she scolded herself. _C'mon, cut the crap. New York is way over that way now, and you're not going back, ever. Especially not now that Mom's gone and _he's _not..._

"Umm, Lali, are you alright?" Lenalee asked, looking a little nervous from the other girl's rather strange expression.

The American shook off her self-induced scolding, and replied, "I'm fine. This is some place – do all Exorcists stay here?"

"All except for my Master," Allen said, "That lousy idiot never wants to come back; he'd rather die than enter into these God forsaken halls again…"

The two girls stopped in their tracks and stared at the white haired boy with apprehension. Allen walked off in a different direction, still muttering various curses about his master. Lali sweatdropped.

"Um, is he always like that?"

Lenalee giggled. "Only when it comes to his master. Cross may have...traumatized Allen-kun a little bit."

"Oh, uh, okay, I guess..."

"Come on," Lenalee said, turning her back, long black pigtails swaying behind her. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the Black Order."

Lenalee led Lali down so many winding stone halls Lali began to wonder how she didn't get lost. Years of experience, apparently. Finally they came to a large room filled with paper and books on every available surface, with a bunch of tired looking guys in lab coats working on various things. Lali felt her eye twitch. The room was too messy for her; it was bringing back unwanted memories.

"Too messy..." she muttered.

"Hm?" Lenalee said, turning to her. Lali quickly recovered herself.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm just a bit of a neat freak."

Lenalee smiled. "Yeah, they are a bit messy. But they're always so busy they don't really have much time to clean. This is the Science Division; they're the guys who work behind the scenes researching and improving the Innocence." She waved to a man with gravity-defying dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes, and who looked like he hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in years. "This is Reever Wenhamm, the Section Leader, who's second-in-command under my brother."

Reever smiled and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "So you're Lali. Nice to meet you." He held out a hand for Lali to shake and turned to Lenalee. "So are you going to take her to Hevlaska?"

"Nii-san will probably do it."

"Well let's go find him, then."

Reever led the way, this time to a closed office door. When he opened it, Lali's mouth fell open in shock. If she'd thought the other room was messy, she didn't even have words to describe this one. A sea of paper was about knee deep on the floor, and the wooden desk in the center was no better, though it didn't seem the man slumped over the desk, fast asleep, cared much. But to Lali, it was too messy. Way, _way_ too messy. _He _would come back, that man...and if he saw this, he would be _so, so angry._

Lali felt herself begin to shake.

"It's too messy..."

"Um, yeah..." Lenalee said, blushing a bit from embarrassment, "Nii-san can be a bit of a slob..."

"No, I mean it's _too messy. _He can't...if he comes now..." she threw a backward glance at the door, as if afraid someone was going to come in and get angry.

"L-Lali?" Lenalee asked, worried. There was something in her new friend's eyes she hadn't seen before; a wild panic, a terror that looked like it was overriding all logic. The girl started grabbing papers, piling them together and trying to make the room a bit cleaner.

"I-it has to be clean! If it's not..." Lali didn't finish, just threw another scared glance at the door.

"Lali, calm down," Lenalee, said. But it didn't seem Lali had heard her; she just continued grabbing papers, muttering all the while.

"Lali –" Reever grabbed her arms, trying to calm her down, but Lali just wiggled free.

"N-NO!" she cried. "It _has _to be _clean! _He'll...he'll hurt me if it's not...it...I..._I don't want him to hurt me again!"_ She seemed to have reached an all-out panic, and at the sight of tears in the young sixteen-year-old's eyes, Lenalee was really worried. Suddenly a new pair of arms grabbed Lali and pushed her to Reever. It seemed the commotion had woken Komui up. Reever wrapped his arms around the now hysterical girl, trying to keep her from hurting herself.

"Reever, take her outside and wait in the hall. We'll be out in a minute." Komui was for once taking something seriously, and so Reever pulled Lali out without question, closing the door behind him.

Komui turned to Lenalee. "What happened? Who is that girl?"

Lenalee swallowed. "That's Lali Evans. Allen and I met her on the way back from a mission; she helped us take out some akuma. She's supposed to become an exorcist."

"So she's an Accommodator?"

Lenalee nodded. "I was bringing her so you could take her to Hevlaska, but when she walked into the room, she suddenly froze up. Then she started trying to clean, saying he would hurt her if it was messy."

"Who's _he?"_

Lenalee shook her head. "I've got no idea. She didn't say...but whoever it is, Lali is terrified of him."

Komui frowned. "Well, it looks like I'm going to have to clean up a bit. It wouldn't be very good if she had a freak attack every time I had to debrief her for a mission." He looked around the room and sighed sadly. "My beautiful mess..."

Lenalee felt a vein throbbing in her forehead.

"Nii-san...YOU IDIOT!" And with that statement, she kicked the man so hard he went flying into a wall. "THIS WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM IF YOU CLEANED THIS PIGSTYE ONCE IN A WHILE!"

Komui's head was spinning, and it took a moment before he noticed Lenalee advancing again, pissed and ready to kick him again.

"U-um, don't you think we should check on Lali-chan?"

Lenalee stopped and chewed her lip. "Fine," she snapped. "But don't think I'm done with you."

She followed him out the door, and they were greeted with the sight of Lali shaking like a leaf, though she looked like she'd calmed down a little. Komui knelt down and looked her in the eye.

"Hey Lali-chan. My name's Komui Lee, I'm Lenalee's older brother and the chief of the Science Division. I'm sorry about the mess in my room...I don't like cleaning." He smiled at her.

Lali looked up at him, eyes teary and upset.

"I-I'm sorry, Komui-san...I a-always get that way when I see a messy room..."

"Lali...you said 'he'd' come and hurt you. Who exactly is he?"

She looked up at him, and to his surprise, gave him a rather bitter smile.

"My...father..."

Komui felt dread begin to build in his stomach. "Y-your _father?"_

They stared at her, but it didn't seem she wanted to elaborate. He finally swallowed and stood up.

"Well, Lali-chan, I'd like to start over. My name is Komui Lee, Chief of the Science Division. Welcome to the Black Order." He gave her a rather wide grin.

Lali stared, mouth open, stunned speechless by the sudden change in atmosphere. She looked at Reever, who simply shrugged.

"Yeah, you eventually get used to his bipolarity."

"Um, okay..."

Lenalee, happy that Lali seemed to have recovered, smiled as well. "Well, nii-san, I need you to take her to Hevlaska. And when you get back..." she gave him a deadly glare. "Clean. Your. Office."

And with that, she turned and marched off. Komui gulped.

"Yes, well...come on, Lali." He turned and started walking down the hall.

Lali followed after him. "Where are we going?"

Komui smiled at her. "To get have your Innocence examined."

He led her to a large, diamond-shaped platform hovering over a dark cavern. As she followed him on, she couldn't help but feel rather nervous. As the platform started to descend, Komui noticed this.

"No need to worry. This will only take a maximum of twenty minutes."

The platform slowed to a stop, and Lali saw five huge throne-like chairs, dimly illuminated by several lights. In each chair, a figure wearing a dark hooded cloak gazed down at her. Lali gazed back in wonder.

"These are the Grand Generals, who give us every order and command. Now Lali...show them how good of a soldier you will be."

Suddenly, Lali felt what seemed to be tentacles surrounding her and lifted her off the platform.

"What do you say, Hevlaska?" Komui asked calmly.

Lali spun her head around, and saw a huge...creature. It looked sort of like a woman, but much bigger, with countless tentacle-like appendages all over her body. It terrified Lali.

"Ah...AAAUGH!"

Lali thrashed wildly, trying to get the thing to loose it's grip on her.

"WHAT IS THIS, KOMUI?" she roared.

The strange creature – Hevlaska – wrapped its many tentacles around her, surrounding her in a cocoon. She continued to struggle, trying her best get free.

"Ugh, let me go! Hey!" she yelled. Finally, she stopped.

_Fine. I tried. _She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. _Innocence activate!_

She felt the familiar sensation of rushing blood, she whirled her head around, almost cricking her neck, and shot a blazing stream of fire at Hevlaska. Shocked, she almost dropped her, but caught her again at the last minute.

_What? No! That blast should have incinerated this thing!_

She caught a glimpse of Komui's shocked face, and remembered he hadn't seen her Innocence yet.

"Let me _go!"_

"You...breathe fire..."

Lali froze. For some reason, it hadn't occurred to her that this thing could talk. But now that she thought about it, Komui had asked it what it thought. He probably wouldn't have done that if he wasn't expecting it to answer.

"Relax...I am not your enemy. I am only...trying to inspect your Innocence. Calm down..."

Lali took a deep breath and tried to force herself to calm down. Hevlaska gently touched her forehead with her own, and a small light appeared at the contact.

"Four percent...thirteen percent...nineteen percent...thirty-one...forty two...fifty-five...sixty-three percent!" She pulled her head back up and looked at Lali, who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Forgive me, Lali Evans. I was just inspecting your Innocence to find the Synchronization Rate. The only way I can do it is through touch."

Lali blinked, then nodded. Komui smiled, and Hevlaska started to put Lali back on the platform when she stopped, and her mouth opened in shock. Komui's smile vanished, what was wrong?

"Wh-what...the Innocence...it is very angry...something impure...is tainting it...what is this?"

"Wh-what?" Lali asked, dumbfounded.

One of Hevlaska's tendrils snaked around Lali's torso, feeling, trying to find out what is was that made the Innocence so angry. Suddenly she paused. and the appendage wrapped around something handing around her neck, pulling it off.

It was the necklace Debitto had given her.

"He-hey!" Lali yelled. "That's mine! Give it back!"

"The Innocence...doesn't like this. Where did you get it?"

"None of your business! A friend gave it to me! Does it matter? Give it _back!"_

"Something about this necklace...angers the Innocence greatly. It must...be purified."

"P...PURIFIED? What the hell does that mean? You're not gonna mess it up, are you? Because if you do, I swear I'll –"

"Relax, Lali Evans. The purification process will not harm your necklace. All it does is get rid of the evil lingering on it."

Lali glared suspiciously at the ghost-like woman, but didn't protest when one of the tendrils wrapped around the lion's fang. Suddenly, the necklace started to glow brightly, forcing both Lali and Komui to close their eyes. As soon as it started, the glowing vanished, and Lali felt the fang fall back into place against her chest. She opened her eyes, and seeing the necklace intact and unchanged, sighed in relief. If she'd lost Debitto's necklace, she didn't know what she'd do.

"Thank God..." she muttered.

Hevlaska placed her back on the platform.

"Well, Lali Evans. Your maximum synchronization rate is sixty three percent."

"So you still haven't explained what exactly this 'synchronization rate' is."

"An Accommodator's synchro rate is is the percent he or she can activate their anti-akuma weapon without the risk of a rebound. The higher the synchronization rate, the less chance there is of your body sustaining permanent damage. Also, Parasitic-types like yourself always have higher synchro rates, because they are the ones chosen by God to use the Innocence to its full potential."

"Parasitic-types?"

"As far as we know," Komui cut in, "there are two types of Innocence: Parasitic and Equipment. Equipment-types are wielded weapons, like a gun, or a sword, or a hammer. Parasitic-types are when the Innocence is a _part_ of the Accommodator's body, like in Allen-kun's arm, or your fire breath."

"Ah, thanks Komui."

And then she threw a punch at his face.

Unlike with Allen, Komui wasn't lucky enough to get his clipboard up in time, and went flying to the edge of platform. He crashed into the railing, clutching his bruised cheek.

"That was for not telling me I was about to be picked up like that. _And _for your stupid office giving me a panic attack," she growled.

"Ow..." he whined.

"Be glad I didn't torch you," she snapped. "Now take me back upstairs. I wanna go to bed."

He nodded and turned the platform back on, carrying them back up, Lenalee and Reever were waiting at the top, and as soon as they came into view, Lenalee bounced up to Lali.

"Well?"

"Apparently, I am a Parasitic-type with a synchro-rate of sixty-three percent."

Lenalee grinned, and Komui decided to let out another groan. Noticing the new bruise on his cheek, she frowned again. "What happened to him?"

Lali smirked. "Payback."

Both Lenalee and Reever smiled in an amused way. Apparently, this was not the first time Komui had pissed someone off.

"Well, come on Lali. It's getting late; let me show you to your room."

Lali nodded and followed her to her room. Lenalee left her for the night, promising to come back to show her to the dining hall for breakfast in the morning. Lali deposited her bag by the bed and slumped against her bed's headboard.

_Well..._ she though to herself. _This is getting interesting..._

She fingered Debitto's necklace and smiled to herself.

_But I wonder if it would be more fun with him..._

**And there you have it! The longest chapter of the story so far~! We hope you liked it. :3**

**Reviews help motivate my lazy arse to get out of bed.**


	4. Scarred

**Penchant-for-raising-Cain: Hey guys! This is the first time I've written a full chapter, just so you know I exist!**

**ElricLawliet: And, you know, there's the whole "Jenny's Internet is EVIL and won't let her on" thing. *cries* **

**Penchant-for-raising-Cain: ...don't go stealing my moment of glory with your sob story! But yeah, it is evil. Like, Millennium Earl evil.**

**ElricLawliet: *ignores first comment and continues stealing glory* Yeah, except my Internet is just evil. At least the Earl has his epic bad-assness to make up for it. *cries again* **

**Penchant-for-raising-Cain: *hands tissue* Onwards with the story! *epic music***

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray man, and I'm pretty sure ElricLawliet doesn't either =) Lali is our co-property (be glad we don't custody arrangments over her)**

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Lali's first thought when she saw the loud, pink haired figure demanding to know what she wanted for breakfast was – _male? Or female? Transvestite?_

"Well, don't just stand there, hun!" the…person hollered, "You need to order something, otherwise that cute body of yours will starve!"

Lenalee stood next to the bewildered girl, giggling at the blatant confusion. Lali shot her a glare, which instantly streamed the message of 'shut up and leave me with whatever pride I have left'. The pink man/woman/transvestite looked at her expectantly, making her eventually sigh and order.

"I'll have two cinnamon bagels, three bowls of cereal, oatmeal, muesli, an omelette stuffed with feta, four rashers of bacon, make sure it's extra crispy with some black coffee, three sugars," she said.

"That's a large order, for a cutie pie! It's comin' right up, darling!" he/she cooed.

All Lali could do was nod. As the questionable person became busy in preparing her breakfast, she furtively leaned over to Lenalee.

"Lenalee, can I ask you something?" she whispered.

"Of course, what is it?"

"Umm, he is a dude, right?"

Lenalee's lips tried hard to suppress fits of laughter; clutching her stomach, she replied, "Yes! That's Jerry, our cook – he's definitely male."

Lali looked at Jerry in a whole new light when he handed her the breakfast with a wink. The dining hall was crowded, packed with tray carrying Exorcists, Finders and Scientists. She felt her arm getting pulled in one direction; Lenalee was leading her to the table on the far right. Lali's eyes widened as she saw a pile of food as tall as the Woolworth Building back in New York. It was rapidly disappearing, and it was not long before she spotted a tuft of white hair.

"Slow down, Allen-kun!" Lenalee said, amused, "You're going to be sick!"

Allen peered above the mass of plates, and shrugged, mumbling with a full mouth, "I can't help eating so much. It's the Parasitic Innocence, I tell you."

_Ah, that explains my eating pattern too_, I guess, Lali thought as she placed her own mound of food on the table. _Wonder what else this Innocence does to me…_

"So, Lavi and Kanda aren't back from their mission yet?" Lenalee asked Allen, who was still guzzling down fried eggs.

"No, they're due back tomorrow. And if Kanda is in his famous bad mood, I doubt Lavi will make it back at all," Allen joked.

"Don't say things like that, Allen-kun!"

Lali laughed, feeling happier and more energetic than yesterday. She fiddled with Debitto's necklace, and thought back to what Hevlaska said.

_"Something about this necklace...angers the Innocence greatly."_

She didn't know why, but that comment troubled her. Innocence was the power of God, right? So why would a harmless necklace anger it? Lali shook her head, trying to get rid of such complicated thoughts. Instead, she turned her musings to Debbito – it seemed too long ago that she had seen him. She could see his cheeky grin, the messed up black hair and the rather strange attire, all tied together with a personality not unlike hers.

Lali blinked, and thought, _Whoa, since when have I give so much thought to him? I barely know him, so how do I know he's this awesome?_

"Lali, you okay?" Allen asked with concern in his eyes.

She jumped slightly from the sudden address, but replied, "Yeah, I'm cool. Why?"

Allen smiled. "Your stomach is calling you by the way. You should feed it now."

Lali mentally hit herself, as during her little mind trip, her breakfast had gone cold. She picked up her cutlery and wolfed down everything, forming a pile of plates to rival Allen's. She felt the hairs on her neck stand up, and nearly spat out her food when she saw Lenalee's mortified expression.

The Chinese girl shook her head and said, "There aren't many girls in the Order, and yet here comes along a girl with the table manners of a guy!"

"Aw, c'mon – I'm not that bad. My mom happened to have trained me well for my appetite," Lali said defensively.

"Lali? Lali Evans?"

A familiar voiced called out in the dining hall, catching Lali's attention. She turned her head to see the shock of blonde hair that was Reever's. He caught her glance and beckoned her over. Giving an apologetic look to Allen and Lenalee, she put her plates on the washing pile and headed towards Reever. As Lali walked, she could snatch whispers from Finders, and could have sworn they were about her.

"Hey…have you heard? She can breathe fire."

"No way, that's so weird!"

"Shh, keep it down! Anyways, what is the Innocence up to, choosing so many young people nowadays?"

"Speaking of Innocence, apparently hers got angry over a necklace."

"Why?"

"Well, my theory is – oh crap, she's coming! Act natural!"

Lali's mouth stiffened into a frown – these guys had nothing better to do than gossip about her, and not very secretly at that. Yet, an iota of her ego swelled; she wondered what Debbito would think if he saw that performance. A hint of a smile appeared as she started walking with Reever along the corridor.

"So," Lali started, "What have you called me here for, Reever?"

"All Exorcists must have a physical check before they start missions. We would have done this yesterday, but you looked tired and the Supervisor kinda messed things up anyway," Reever explained.

It was not long before they reached a very white, sterile looking room. Lali deduced that it was the infirmary, considering that there were nurses rushing to groaning patients and the smell of antiseptic roamed the air. Reever led her to a separate room inside the ward labelled 'Examination Room'. The same smell followed them, but unlike the main ward, it only had one bed that was absolutely empty. Strange contraptions lined the walls, and Lali wondered what she had gotten herself into. She opened her mouth to ask Reever what the _hell_ a drill was doing here, but he looked too busy calling someone over.

"Head Matron! I've brought Miss. Evans," he said.

A tall, severe looking woman appeared. Her face betrayed her age straight away, and knowledge glistened in her strict eyes. Lali shivered, feeling the aura of authority that the Matron carried with her. The Matron peeled off the latex gloves she was wearing and donned a pair on, and after changing her apron as well, she asked Reever to step outside for a while. She took one look at Lali before closing the door, flicking the metallic lock. Lali could feel goosebumps on her arms – her experiences in small, locked rooms were never pleasant. Images flashed by her eyes, and she saw herself as a child, cowering in the corner as an ominous shadow covered her. Lali winced as the disembodied arm of the figure lashed a whip in her direction.

"Miss. Evans, are you feeling quite alright?" the woman asked, snapping her back to reality.

Lali looked around for a bit before responding. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Okay then," she said, briskly transforming into a professional, "Please could you unbutton your shirt?"

Lali stood frozen for a moment. "…Wait, what?"

"I cannot do a physical examination whilst you are wearing your shirt," the Matron answered crisply.

Her hands began to shake as she unbuttoned her shirt slowly. Every fibre of her being was screaming at Lali to stop, but she fought against them. The soft white cotton shirt slid off her arms and she looked down as a glaze of red betrayed her embarrassment. With her back exposed to the Head Matron, Lali could feel her laser gaze tracing it.

Tracing _them_.

"Miss. Evans, "the woman began, "How on earth did you scar yourself so badly?"

"H-hey, if you tilted your head to the right and closed your eyes a little, it doesn't look that bad," Lali joked feebly.

She inched closer, and could see Lali's body trembling violently. Lali took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, but the fact that this almost completely replicated one of her worst days in New York did not help her. Images flashed again, and she rubbed her temples in an attempt to stop them. But they kept coming…

"_Stupid bitch!"_

_WHACK!_

"_You let her die, didn't you?"_

_WHACK!_

"_Dad, please…"_

"_I'm not listening to your whining, you fucking moron!"_

"_It hurts, Dad, it hurts…"_

"_I said shut up!"_

_WHACK!_

"IT HURTS!"

"Miss. Evans?" the Matron's voiced reached her left ear, and she could numbly feel a hand on her shoulder.

Lali immediately grabbed her shirt and swiftly put it on. She spun around to look at her, trying to make her frightened eyes as deadpan as possible. The older woman looked at her behaviour in surprise, but kneeled down to meet her eye level. To Lali's astonishment, she gave a small smile.

"If you don't want to talk to me, talk to Komui about this," she said softly, caressing the American's cheek, "He's an excellent, unbiased listener, unless he's on a coffee high or if it's about his sister."

Lali nodded mechanically, prying herself from the Matron's hands. She replicated the smile, and dipped her head politely. Wordlessly, she left.

She held the brimming tears captive until she reached her room. Her cheeks were wet before she could lock the door.

_Oh, Debitto_, she mourned, _why can't you be here?_

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**Each review is like a gift, so spoil us with them! Let's hope the next update will be faster *feeble laugh***


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